


Harvest Close Festival

by GreenFire66



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Spoilers Pre-Episode 12, Tags Are Hard, hand holding, mild language?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-26
Updated: 2018-09-26
Packaged: 2019-07-18 01:25:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,046
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16107875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GreenFire66/pseuds/GreenFire66
Summary: Fjord and Caleb are sent to observe the Harvest Close Festival while the rest of the party infiltrates the High Richter's and Lord Sutan's house. Both try to blend in to not draw attention, and act how any two individuals who go to a gala would act.They go on a date.





	Harvest Close Festival

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to this wreck of a story. I pride myself in writing ship content that isn't actually romantic but instead borders that "what if" line between friendship and 'pre-relationship'. AKA: The awkward "is this even flirting" phase. This story has been sitting, completed, on my computer for a little over a month now and it's only thanks to the encouragement of the discord server that I'm in I'm able to go ahead and just post the thing.  
> So yeah.

“Remind me why we are here, like this.” Caleb heard his own voice break the audible silence between him and his companion. The Harvest Close Festival’s festivities bustled around him, and he tried his best to tone the noise out. 

He knew why he was there, because he always remembers. Doesn’t mean he could believe it.

“Well,” Fjord’s voice drawled next to him. Caleb could see the Half-Orc adjust the mask that continued to rest uncomfortably on his face. “We’re here to keep our eyes on our two targets while the rest of the group is taking care of their parts of the job.”

A small part of Caleb’s brain wanted to hush Fjord for talking about their job so outwardly in public, but he knew between the music and the cheers from the audience anything that the two of them said would hardly be heard by anyone else.

“And the two of us, alone, were sent to investigate because…”

“Well, neither of us are mighty sneaky, now are we?” Fjord grinned at him. “Plus, with costumes, we seem to be the most able to blend in to the given environment.”

Caleb laughed silently to himself at that.

“Yes, of course,” Caleb responded simply, glancing about. If he was given a task, he was going to do it. For the party’s sake, if nothing else. “You don’t see either the High Richter or Lord Sutan, do you?”

“Not in the slightest,” Fjord huffed. “I’ve seen the High Richter before, she’s mighty recognizable. There’s no way we’ve just missed her.”

“Maybe we’re going about this wrong.” Caleb stopped walking, rubbing a worried hand against the back of his head. “Maybe instead of looking for them, we look for any Crowns Guards that might be escorting them? Surely they would be easy to spot in the crowd?”

One quick sweep proved that theory wrong. Caleb hadn’t noticed since he wasn’t looking for them, but now that his attention was focused on the uniform of the guards, he noticed a wide range of them litter the grounds of the festival. When he heard a sigh next to him, Caleb could only assume Fjord had reached a similar conclusion.

“I don’t think so. Good idea, though.”

Caleb felt his cheeks flush slightly. He still hadn’t grown used to anyone other than Nott throwing compliments his way.

“Maybe we should stop observing, and just start… enjoying.” Fjord turned to him with what Caleb swore was a genuine smile.

“I… do not catch your meaning.”

“Most people don’t attend these festivities and just… watch. They’re usually doing  **something** .” Fjord swept an open hand in the direction of the numerous booths before them. “Maybe we should, ah, join in. The two of us.”

“Are. Are you suggesting we pretend to be…” Caleb cut his sentence off. 

When Caleb didn’t continue, Fjord simply responded, “All I mean to say is that we might see more if we’re on the inside of the festivities, instead of just watching.”

_ Well it doesn’t sound like it when you word it like that. _

“Yes, of course.” Caleb nodded quickly and immediately turned to look at any booth that wasn’t in Fjord’s direction. “So, ah, where… where should we start?”

Caleb suddenly regretted getting an ‘eyes-only’ mask. One that covered his entire face sounded much better right about now.

“We should start by acting like a damn pair who would actually go to an event like this together.” Fjord stated, voice hushed, as he reached an arm around Caleb and pulled him closer. When Caleb stiffened, Fjord leaned slightly and whispered, “sorry to grab you suddenly, but people were staring.” After a quick second for Caleb to calm himself, Fjord added. “If we’re going to avoid drawing attention-”

“We need to act as normal as possible. Yes, I suppose there being two of us does make this a, ah…”

“What’s wrong, Caleb?” And Caleb could  **_hear_ ** the grin behind the mask. “Hate being saddled on a ‘date’ with me?”

Oh, two could play at this game.

“Hardly.” And Caleb found it more natural than he expected to lean ever-so-slightly against Fjord’s weight. He allowed himself a victory grin at the quick intake of breath from his companion. “However, my earlier question still stands. Which booth should we start with,  _ dear _ ?”

The two of them quickly settled on one of the booths close where they were. Caleb saw an assortment of alcoholic mugs scattered across a table roughly fifteen feet from where the booth attendant leaned against the stand. When she saw the two of them approached, she sprung off the stand, her soft blond hair following the motion.

“Greetings, greetings!” She waved enthusiastically. “Welcome to Ale Toss! Can I interest either or both of you in a game?”

“How do ya’ play?” 

“It’s quite simple.” She answered Fjord matter-of-factly. She turned to the mugs. “You just need to land a brass ball inside any one of these mugs. The prize you get depends on the color of the mug.” She waved her hand towards the pile of prizes opposite of her. “Green gets you one of the vouchers for a free drink at one of the bars, brown gets you one of any of the books in that pile over there.” Caleb’s eyes darted to the mentioned pile of scattered papers. Most were novels with recognizable names, oh but how Caleb desired to know what was hidden inside the pile. “And black-”

“ _ Ja, ja. _ How much to buy in?” 

“… and black doubles your buy-in of two copper pieces.” She finished, the quiver in her smile indicating that Caleb wasn’t the first person tonight to interrupt her mid-spiel. 

“Sounds like a deal, Ms., er…?”

“Kie’la. Just Kie’la.”

“Kie’la.” Fjord finished as he slid the buy-in fee.

“You get three chances,” Kie’la explained as she handed Fjord three brass balls. “But the first success ends your game, so aim carefully.”

Caleb put the silver piece back in his pocket as he watched Fjord prepare his first toss.

Caleb studied the shape of the sphere in Fjord’s hand with the diameter of the mugs. Granted, not every mug was the same size, but they were close enough for Caleb to notice that there was barely any wiggle room for the ball to fall in. The aim had to be almost perfect.

Fjord’s first toss hit the rim of one of the mugs and bounced off, knocking another one off on its way down.

“Too early,” Fjord clicked his tongue as he grabbed the second one. Practicing the motion of the throw, Fjord was oblivious to Caleb behind him, reaching in his component’s pouch.

Caleb watched the orb as it was released into the air. He marked the trajectory, and quickly followed it down to its destination.

_ Oh. This is going to land. _

Suppressing a grin, Caleb motioned a quick series of hand gestures and muttered an almost inaudible word. 

“Shield.”

The mug shimmered a fluorescent color as the orb impacted the open maw, bouncing seamlessly off and launching into the air, a soft ‘thud’ echoing in the silence as it hit the ground.

Caleb dared a glance at the slack-jawed Fjord. When Caleb couldn’t hold back a snicker, Fjord immediately spun to him. 

“You little-!” With Fjord facing him, Caleb could see that there was no malice. In fact Fjord himself was barely able to hold back a laugh, if the cheek-splitting grin was evidence of anything. “I was-!”

It dawned on Caleb at that moment. The mug was brown.

“Um.” Kie’la started, though noticeably a step back from the two of them. “You have one more throw, sir. If you want. Though I ask that you not use magic to influence the game.”

“Of course,” Fjord replied, a quick glare sent in Caleb’s direction. 

“ _ Ja _ , uh, just don’t aim for that one again. Or wait twenty-one more seconds.” 

Fjord turned back to the mugs.

_ Eighteen… seventeen… _

Fjord’s third shot flew, arcing down and, with a ‘thunk’, landed snuggly in a mug to the left of the previous one.

_ Also brown _ , Caleb noted. 

“Ha!” Fjord exclaimed, turning back to Caleb. “Appreciated the challenge there, hun.”

Caleb was  **pretty** sure he was joking.

“Well. A win is a win.” She motioned for the pile of books unenthusiastically. “Pick whatever. Just one though. Let me know if you want to play anymore.”

With a nod, Fjord approached. After a step, he turned to Caleb and motioned for him to follow. “Surely you don’t think I won a book for myself?”

Caleb flushed as he walked alongside Fjord, something he found himself doing more tonight than he would care to admit.

When they approached the pile, Fjord looked at Caleb expectantly. With a nod, Caleb quickly set up the preparations to quick cast Detect Magic.

None of the books in the pile radiated any energy.

With a sigh and a head shake, Caleb quickly fingered through the books on top of the pile. Most of the names he recognized, and the few he didn’t recognize didn’t catch his attention. He pulled one at random.

“I’m taking this one,” he replied, holding up the book to the attendant for the briefest of moments in case she needed to track inventory.

Her face flushed immediately, and she nodded. “I-I see. You sirs have a good evening.”

Caleb was puzzled at her expression, and only for that reason did he bother to glance at the cover. 

Scent of the Sea.

_ Now where have I…? _

“What’s that one about?” Fjord asked, the two taking only a few steps before Fjord remembered to throw an arm around Caleb’s shoulder. Caleb found himself leaning into the touch as he skimmed the first couple of chapters of the book. Not reading, just grasping the overall concept and theme.

_ Ah.  _ One paragraph on one of the pages made Caleb understand immediately. “I… realize now. This was in the, uh, Chasity’s Nook. Shop.”

“You shittin’ me?” Fjord asked, reaching for the book. Not caring, Caleb handed the book over. Fjord took a couple of moments to read the page Caleb was on, then sputtered about halfway through. “You…  **actually** got a sex novel. From my toss.”

“It wasn’t intentional,” Caleb rebutted, leaning away from Fjord to turn and meet his gaze. “Nothing was magical, so I picked at random.”

“I take it you don’t want it then, huh?”

“Nonsense.” Caleb replied, taking the book from Fjord’s grasp. “A book is a book. And a gift is a gift. Thank you for giving me the chance to browse the pile.”

“‘Course. I know how important books are to ya’.” Silence fell over the two of them as they walked. After Caleb stored the novella in his coat pocket, he leaned away from Fjord’s touch. When he glanced at the Half-Orc, he simply offered a hand instead.

Fjord took his hand in his own. Because, Caleb reminded himself, they needed to blend in. With a quick glance, Caleb noticed that most people were going about their own festivities. At least the contact was working.

“So,” Fjord’s voice interrupted his train of thought. “Does that mean you’ll think of me when you’re reading it?”

Caleb glared at Fjord’s grin.

“I’m not dignifying that with a response.” 

They both laughed, and Caleb watched Fjord glance around. “Now if only-”

Caleb waited for Fjord to resume. After three seconds, Caleb breached the silence. “If only?”

“We could find… the…” Fjord’s pauses caused Caleb to glance at where he was looking. The sight that immediately grabbed his attention was two Crown Guards walking beside a woman in a regal emerald dress. She walked with dignity, and purpose, and passed right by the two of them. Caleb watched Fjord watch her as she continued.

“The High Richter!” Fjord whispered loudly. Caleb’s eyes shot open. 

Of course. The reason they were  **actually** here.

“That’s the direction of her house.” Caleb added. 

The two of them immediately took off, their hands disconnecting to allow them to move at a faster pace.

It wasn’t until later that Caleb realized he missed the warmth of Fjord’s hands in his. And from the way Fjord shot a quick glance at him before continuing the trek to the High Richter’s house, maybe Caleb wasn’t the only one.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed! Please feel free to leave any thoughts in a comment! If people seem to actually enjoy this, I'll try to get into writing more of these nerds. Because I love them and just want them to be happy.


End file.
